Every year I wrap up my blog with reflections of the past camping season. This year, I ended up with a great "reflections" picture (taken at Badlands National Monument) and some pretty good reflection totals:

Is it possible that we have been camping in the Silvermine for 3 years? The Airbiscuit Anniversary Rally & Chili Cookoff at Findley State Park marks this yearly milestone for us, and also signals the end of the 2014 camping season.

The big difference this year is that Tom is retired and able to leave in the middle of the week. We were so eager to go that we arrived at the campground on Wednesday, a full day before the rally officially began!

At the end of October the weather can sometimes be cold and wet, but this year the leaves were bright, the sun was out, the temperatures were mild, and the weekend was a perfect setting for our last camping gathering.

Findley State Park was "sold out" of electric sites, and was ready to welcome us with Halloween decorations. This also was the weekend of their annual venison chili cook-off which creates a lot of interest . . . . and entries! The State Park gives 1 pound of venison to each registered participant and after the judging chili tasting is open to everyone in the park.

Thursday morning the rally started for serious as Loren,Mike, Lou and Larry arrived with their Airstream and Argosy, followed by the set-up of the "big tent" and base camp . All day long the Airstreams rolled in, set up camp, and filled in the campsites up and down the row.

Last year I underwrote a craft project for the rally -- making pillow cases. This year, I created sewing kits with everything included to make either a National Parks or an Ohio State Parks wall hanging. The finished project calls for buttons to be sewn on as a record of parks visited. To help things along I pre-cut many of the pieces, and I pre-ironed the maps onto the fabric. All that was required was straight-line sewing and some pressing. We sewed in the comfort of the heated and lighted big tent and were done in 3 hours! I showed up with 7 Ohio State Park maps and 5 National Parks maps -- and went home with 1 map left over!

While we were sewing, many were hanging around the campfire and sitting in small groups visiting. This seems to be the favorite pastime at a NOVA rally.

This year's rally was cut a bit short for me and a bit shorter for Tom. He left on Friday afternoon so he could turn around and drive to Buffalo, NY for a weekend hockey tournament with Caleb. I left with the Silvermine on Saturday afternoon at the start of the judging for the chili cook-off. All in all -- it was a great celebration at the end of the camping season. I'll end with this group picture!

Since Tom and I joined up again on Sunday afternoon, the camper has been emptied, winterized, and backed into its permanent parking spot behind the garage. I suppose it is ready to rest there for the winter -- unless we come up with any last-minute plans to pull it out of hibernation!

It is an iconic state park in this area -- located in Indiana less than 1 1/2 hours away from our house! We haven't visited in over 25 years! Being one of the State's original parks, Pokagon features the unique work of the Civilian Conservation Corps, whose members lived and worked in the park from 1934 to 1942. The "boys of the CCC" built the beautiful stone and log structures that dot the park. Why on earth have we not camped in this beautiful Indiana State Park for so long?

The plan for this camp out was hatched several months ago and included camping pals Steve, Cindy, and Eric in their VISTA, Dave, Gayle, and Norma in their Bullet, and Tom and me in the SILVERMINE! The camp out was only two nights, but an absolute bull's-eye on the color calendar for leaf-peeping in Northern Indiana!

We met in Fort Wayne and convoyed the 50 miles to Pocagon. By 2:00 we were all set up in a nice little circle formation.

The plan for the afternoon? Sitting around a campfire -- and all that comes with that strategy. Then, dinner and more . . . sitting around the campfire!

Dinner was grill-your-own meat, with side dishes and desert divvied out pot-luck style -- all accompanied by a sprinkle of rain! The Paha Que shelter easily sheltered two picnic tables, making mealtime a dry event. After dinner, the fire was still burning!

For me, there is nothing quite as cozy as the Silvermine at bedtime -- homemade quilts and lots of pillows -- Ipads, Kindles and TV . . .

Saturday we split up -- some to the Auburn, Cord, Duesenberg Auto Museum in Auburn, and some to the outlet mall 2 miles away! Those shopping found good bargains at the kitchen supply, clothing stores and shoe stores. Those drooling over cars found their dream ride! We all met back at the campground to temperatures barely reaching 50 degrees, and a perfect pre-made plan to go out to eat! We located Mulligans, a nearby golf-course restaurant, with good food and perfect atmosphere.

Sunday morning we were up early, as usual, and heading for home. This is a carry-over from the days that Tom needed to get home to get ready for school on Monday . . . some habits don't retire easily! Before leaving the sate park, however, Tom took me on a quick tour of the Pottawatomie Inn.

We're finally into autumn -- our favorite time of year for camping. This called for a trip to Tennessee to visit my siblings, camp in the Great Smoky Mountains, and maybe enjoy a little fall leaf-peeping.

The trip started Sunday, October 5th, with an early visit to Micah in Cincinnati where I cleaned carpets while Tom and Micah sealed the blacktop driveway. Only 5 hours and we were back on the road with a 30 minute drive to Big Bone Lick Kentucky State Park. With only a dozen other campers we had no trouble getting a site. We didn't bother to unhook -- just plugged in, cooked dinner, visited with a local doe, and retreated to the Silvermine for the evening.

An early wake-up and take-off made for a 2:00 arrival in Cades Cove Campground. We were surprised to find the campground mostly full on a Monday night -- a tribute to the leaf-peeping season. The only problem was that the leaves were not in prime color yet! We had a steak dinner and then decided on a twilight drive through the Cove on the 11-mile loop road. Twilight is a good time to see deer out grazing in the fields, but dusk quickly turned to dark, and we ended the last two miles with the headlights on.

It rained all night, long and we woke up to a soggy Tuesday -- just right for a city-trip to Gatlinburg. A breakfast stop, a trip thru our favorite outdoor gear store and a walk down the main street was made all under the threat of rain. My sibs, Beccie and Richard, were scheduled for a dinner visit at the campsite, and we briefly thought about cancelling because of weather.

But, we left plans as they were, and the the afternoon warmed up and dried off, and we had a wonderful visit and meal: Cornish hens, salad, roasted potatoes, and a pound cake with cherries baked in the Dutch oven.

Wednesday we fueled up with one of Tom's egg-sandwich breakfasts, before taking off for the far parts of the park.

Leaving Cades Cove on the Laurel Creek Road, we drove 7 miles to the "Y"and then the Little River Road to Sugarlands. From there we skirted the West Prong River up to Newfound Gap where there is a monument from which President Roosevelt dedicated the new National Park in 1940. The road continues 7 more miles up to the highest point in Tennessee -- Clingman's Dome. We didn't climb the steep 1/2 miles trail up to the 54' tall observation tower because the entire view was socked in by fog. We had been hoping for a glorious view of fall foliage, but neither the trees or the mountain haze cooperated!. Backtracking back down to Newfound Gap we crossed the border into North Carolina and drove down into Cherokee.

There wasn't much happening in Cherokee -- the shops we went into were much more schlocky than 15 years ago, and there were not a lot of tourists --the shopping district was dead. When it came time for lunch, we could not find a restaurant downtown, and had to venture out towards . . . Harrah's Casino! That seems to be where all the people were -- the parking lots were full and the Casino was hoppin'! We passed on by, still looking for a restaurant, and found Granny's Kitchen, a nice buffet-only eatery. So much for Cherokee, NC -- one picture of a line of junk stores!

We got back to our campsite in time for a brief rest before heading to Maryville for a dinner at Calhoon's with siblings.

Thursday, our last day, we decided on a trip on the 11-mile loop road around the Cove in the daylight! I remembered the camera and got a few shots of the famous Cades Cove views and buildings.

Half-way around the Cove is the mill area -- a small collection of homes that were moved in from around the Cove to create a small community around John Cable's grist mill that was built in 1870. There is a visitor center, and and today there was country folk music on the porch!

A favorite image of the Cove is always a split-rail fence. Every member of my family has posed for a picture on a fence at one time or another!

This deeply rutted, dirt-packed road is the old Cooper Road that goes to Maryville -- it is the road I remember driving to the Cove on when I was very young. It dumped you out right in the middle of the Cades Cove loop road!

A horse and buggy crossing the road indicated that we were at the end of the drive. It also signaled that we were at the end of our Tennessee trip, and it was time to head to the campsite and pack up all of our outdoor extras for the trip home on Friday.

The NYC subway app on our phone marked the accessible entrances on and off the subway, and we quickly learned that some were accessible as marked -- and some were not. We jumped on the subway at Chamber Street and rode to 34th st/Penn Station -- no access to the street level! We reloaded the subway and rode to Times Square -- BINGO -- out of the station and into the middle of Times Square -- just in time for lunch!

On day two in in NYC we emerged from the Silvermine with a plan to walk 3 blocks to the light-rail/above-ground transport for a ride into Manhattan. That station was not wheelchair accessible so we forged ahead another 10 blocks to the PATH Station -- not accessible! With growing doubts about the light-rail service we back-tracked 13 blocks to our familiar ferry dock and took that across the Hudson to Manhattan.

Times Square was decked out with a variety of food vendors and lots of little round red dining tables. . . hot dogs, potato chips, and pop for all three -- $38.00. Time square also had lots of dancing and mingling characters begging for photo opps -- I was sucked in by the Mickey Mouse Squad, and Caleb was my good-natured target!

After eating Tom and Caleb enjoyed the street sights, while I dashed into the Sephora store to pick up my favorite brand of make-up. . . so up-scale!

For several hours we continued down 5th Avenue and Broadway, scoping out the theater district and seeing the Ed Sullivan Theater, David Letterman location, Radio City Music Hall, ABC, NBC and FOX studies, and finally the August Wilson Theater where we held tickets for the 2:00 matinee of Jersey Boys!

OH WHAT A SHOW it was! Tom and I knew every song, and while Caleb didn't quite have them imbedded in his memory, he did appreciate the story-line, the acting, and the music. There is just nothing like walking out of a Broadway Show and onto the main drag for a wonderful,high, feeling. That high got us 20 blocks (on foot) via Avenue of the Americas, past the Rockefeller Plaza . . . all the way down to the Empire State Building!

From the 1st Floor Art Deco Lobby to the 86th Floor Observatory (in under one minute!) the ESB is a great experience, and a great way to review all the sights and sounds of NYC -- 1,050 feet below! Aside from the 360-degree open-air deck, the Observatory also has indoor galleries to enjoy the views. Caleb was a bit surprised that he was so cautious about the overlook -- it took him awhile to work into a comfort zone and to inch close enough to the edge for a look-see!

We were tired and hungry and doubtful that we would be able to put together a quick subway trip back to the ferry landing -- and it was getting dark down in the concrete canyon and threatening rain. Cabbies are notorious for skipping past and not wanting to bother with a wheelchair, so we were delighted with a gallant driver pulled over. Caleb's chair does not fold, but the wheels do pop off and the whole thing can fit in a mid-size trunk. Our driver was a hero as he aggressively jumped into the traffic and pushed every advantage in our 45-minute ride. At only $25. it really was not a bad deal and offered another fun way to see some more of the city -- taxi-style.

With the threatening rain we decided dinner could wait until we were on the other side of the Hudson, where a Tilted Kilt Restaurant was a block away from our camper. Dinner gave us time to form a plan for the next day and the 100% prediction of rain all day! The radar showed that we could drive out of the rain somewhere in Pennsylvania, and we have always wanted to see the Pocono Race Track . . . so for now NYC would remain a two-day trip. One thing is for sure -- we will be back. We know where to camp, we know how to get around, and we have lots more we want to see!

I do want to write a blog entry about the trip home, but it is not going to be in the next few days. Weebly, my blog host, has launched a new version of their service, and there are quite a few bugs that have made it a 3-day chore just to get through this simple post. Tomorrow we leave for 5 days in Tennessee, and when we get back, I will try to remember to start up again with the trip home from New York City.

We don’t go camping any more . . . we go ‘streamin’ ! The “SIlvermine and His” is our 2016 23' Airstream, and ‘streamin’ is the name we use to describe our adventures. Stream along as we document everything from weekend trips to longer summer excursions and full-blown vacations. You know what they say: if you’re not in an Airstream – you’re just camping!Tom & Ella Brown